Bilson: My job is to protect the games

Danny Bilson, THQ's executive vice president of core games, has told Eurogamer that the publisher has "to compete at the highest level of excellence" these days and he sees it as his job to protect software from being released in a poor state.

Bilson was speaking to Eurogamer as THQ announced a partnership with Tomonobu Itagaki's Valhalla Studios to publish Devil's Third, a new post-apocalyptic action game for PS3 and Xbox 360. Check out our interview with Bilson and Itagaki in full for more.

"One thing about the way we develop here at THQ now is that we don't ship it until it's unbelievably awesome, so when I say two years, it could be shorter, it could be longer, but it really is dictated by game quality, and when Itagaki-san and our team shake hands and say we're ready to go," he told us.

"We can't afford any more in this world to push stuff out the door - it doesn't work that way. We have to compete at the highest level of excellence, and that means the code is more important than anything.

"It's my job here - and I'll say me on that one - to protect the code, and so that's sort of how we get in business easily with talent like this, because they know now that the game comes first here at THQ."

Itagaki said he felt the same way. "That is one of the main reasons that I decided to work with THQ - we can do that here," he explained. "Danny has been very clear on that concept - that we will only make good games."